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Concerns about the international perception of Sweden - worries about negative image of Sweden is being portrayed in international media

Tuesday, 11 September 2012
It looks like there is a sort of wakeup call for the Swedish out of touch officials to start examining how Sweden is portrayed in the international arena. Too much talk of racism and xenophobia seem to be getting to the neck of the smooth Swedes and they seem to be worried about it.

According to the Swedish television, the image of Sweden around the world is changing, citing various recent reports. The areas of concern have to do with worries that Sweden which used to be considered as a neutral, open and tolerant country is about to be tempered with.

Swedish television adds that the last six months in all cases reporting on Sweden in the foreign media has changed for the negative. Both the Foreign Ministry and Swedish Institute, which follow the way Sweden is portrayed in the foreign media, has noticed the change and the negative trend.

It all started with the controversial racial cake, which a minister tool part in the show.
In April, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth cut a wedge out of the controversial artwork depicting a naked black woman. The images were spread by the social media all over the world and were views by millions. These things irrespective of their intensions are interpreted differently in different environments. In countries with strong black intellectuals such as the USA, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and Britain, the interpretation will be different and they way those people will see sweden will be different.

Other big issue that made Sweden to be seen differently includes the Julian Assange issue - where some people questioned Sweden's intension of extraditing Mr. Asange to Sweden with activists believing that Sweden want to coax him to Sweden to answer rape charges and then extradite him to the USA.

Then the comedian, and blogger Sonja Abrahamsson who last summer, tweeted provocatively about Jews on Sweden's official Twitter account, as well as the far right politician of the Sweden Democrat, Pär Norling wo made a statement that Islam be banned.

In most of the reporting, there are aspects which question the real Sweden as a country of freedom, equality, fairness, respect of what they hold as their core values. However, it has emerged that racial issues and its principles of non-alignment have become questionable in the past months.

That reporting on Sweden has changed in recent times is clear, but it remains to be seen what this does to the image of the Swedes and Sweden, report Swedish television
By Scancomark.com Team

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